Hotels in Copenhagen, Denmark and Balestrand,Norway

I think Rick's book primarily suggests hotels close to the train station/city hall/Tivoli in downtown Copenhagen. Personally, I much prefer the area around Nyhaven, it's the north end of the Stroget (the walking mall that ends at the train station/city hall on the south end). I've stayed in the Phoenix and Opera (almost stayed in the Strand) - all within a few blocks of the Kongens Nytorv (the square adjactent to Nyhaven). There are other hotels in the area, some budget friendly and some upscale. Go to tripadvisor, use the map feature and zoom in around Nyhaven to view some choices. The area is generally nicer than the city hall/train station area. It's served by the Kongens Nytorv metro station. The metro takes no more than 15 minutes from the airport - a little faster than the train from the airport to downtown.

For Balestrand, we stayed at Kvikne's Hotel and paid the extra for a fjord facing room. We did this seven years ago and still savor the memory of that view and the charming old wooden hotel. If you are going to Norway, it's worth it to treat yourself to at least one night in one of the historic old wooden hotels - this one and the one in Voss are the most conveniently located. If you do decide to stay at Kvikne's, be sure you reserve a room in the old part of the hotel. (The new wing looks like a dorm and seems to cater to a lot of tour buses.)....By the way, the Vik stave church is right across the fjord from Balestrand - well worth a stop, not that far from the ferry.

We stayed at the Balestrand Hotel 3 years ago. We had a room with a fjord view and probably paid about half what one would pay at the Kvikne for the same view. The included breakfast was super. As suggested above, we'd recommend going to Vik on a day trip to see the stave church. Have a great trip.

My wife and I stayed at the Balestrand a couple years ago and it was fine. We did have a wonderful fjord view. Scandinavia is very expensive! I recall the Balestrand Hotel being very reasonable for the area.

Thanks everyone for your great suggestions. I was happy to hear Brad's suggestion about the Nyhaven area, as it does seem nicer than by the train. We do plan on visiting the VIK stave church. I love taking pictures of unique churches, such as the stave church. So thank you also Cynthia, Galen and Mike C. Your comments were very helpful. Best,
Marie

Yeah, Nyhavn would be infinitely preferable to the area around the train station! But I don't know any of the hotels around there, so I can't comment much more than that. I stayed at Ibsens Hotel, which is closer to Rosenborg Slot. For a mid-priced hotel, my room was surprisingly large...no, make that surprisingly huge! The breakfast spread was also one of the more unique I've encountered. Only problem, though, was that there was a lot of noise from a bar across the street.

Rosenborg Slot is between five and ten blocks from Nyhavn. If you find something there, the Metro to Norreport may be closer. As I recall, it's the next stop on the line after Kongens Nytorv.

Norreport is the closest metro stop to Ibsens Hotel. About a 5 minute walk away.

We stayed at the Radisson BLU Royal Hotel in Copenhagen two years ago. It was a lovely hotel. It was directly across the street from the Tivoli Gardens and the Hard Rock Cafe. We even ate at the Hard ROck a couple of times. We were there right before Tivoli closed for winter. We could watch the fireworks at Tivoli. The hotel is conveniently located in Copenhagen. We took taxis to/from the airport. We used Radisson hotel points. The restaurant was rather expensive. We ate there for breakfast though, as it was downstairs near the hotel lobby. We had a very nice room with a GREAT view. We would stay there again.

I hope you like the Phoenix. It's an old but gracious hotel with good service. We booked our room with breakfasts, it's not really common in Scandinavia for rooms to include breakfast unless you book it specifically that way. The breakfast at the Phoenix is one of the best I've had anywhere in Europe (which is saying a lot in Scandinavia, where breakfasts can be bland).

Thanks everyone for your suggestions and comments. They were very helpful. We decided to stay at the Phoenix because of its location. We are also going to stay at the Balstrand Hotel(I talked to Unn Marie on the phone; she is in Californina right now and w have a lot of connections in CA.). Hope you have fun traveling. I will be asking about other places, so keep your good suggestions coming. Best wishes,
Marie